Published: Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 8:13 p.m.

LAKEWOOD RANCH - A New York hedge fund that has been acquiring undervalued assets bought one of Southwest Florida's top golf courses for about $3 million.

Facts

LEGACY GOLF CLUB AT LAKEWOOD RANCH

New owner: Och-Ziff Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund.

Seller: Textron Financial Corp.

Sales price: Roughly $3 million

What: An 18-hole, semi-private golf club on about 200 acres, with a 5,200-square-foot clubhouse.

History: Designed by golf great Arnold Palmer, the club was built by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and opened in March 1997. Textron acquired its $6.7 million debt in 2009.

–Michael Pollick

Facts

A BARGAIN?

Lakewood Ranch site fetched $6.7 million in debt in '09

A subsidiary of Och-Ziff Capital Management financed its Legacy Gulf Club purchase with a $3.6 million loan from Bank of America, records show.

Seller Textron Financial Corp., of Providence, R.I., has been trying to shed the course and its 5,200- square-foot clubhouse since acquiring it for its $6.7 million debt in 2009, officials connected to the course said.

Textron's sale also marks the latest in a string of transactions involving local courses that have traded at steep discounts to their values of a decade ago.

In December, General Electric Credit Equities sold the 233-acre Serenoa Golf Club, in Sarasota, for $2 million to OnCourse Strategies, an Austin, Texas-based company.

General Electric assumed control of the course in 2010 following a $4.3 million foreclosure judgment.

Brian Richter, who has managed Legacy for Textron since 2009, said the Legacy sale was part of a portfolio deal Textron orchestrated.

"I think the reason the seller came to this price level was because this was part of a multiple-course purchase," Richter said. "Textron sold five assets to this group."

The other assets, he said, are not in this region.

An Och-Ziff Capital spokesman declined to comment on the transaction or its plans for the property.

Legacy, which was designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer and premiered in March 1997, was built by Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to attract home buyers to the then-fledgling community. Soon thereafter, the course was acquired by a group headed by Troon Golf.

Keith Pope, whose Sarasota-based Pope Golf runs 10 golf courses and is building two more at Lakewood Ranch and in Naples for homebuilder Taylor Morrison, said he understood Textron was asking $6.7 million for Legacy.

He added that the purchase is part of a larger, post-recession trend involving golf courses at a time when the sport is said to be waning in popularity.

Even so, developers like Taylor Morrison and Neal Communities have shown interest in either building or buying golf courses in Southwest Florida as part of a larger amenity package aimed at retiring, active baby boomers.

"This is what we see all the time," Pope said. "Golf courses are selling for 25 cents to 50 cents on the dollar from where they were 10 years ago. That is why you're starting to see institutional money come back into the golf industry. They can make money off of it."

Och-Ziff Capital has a well-earned reputation for buying properties and other alternative assets that have either been neglected or overlooked.

"They have been a big buyer of distressed real estate over the last five years," said Jack McCabe, chief executive of McCabe Research and Consulting, in Deerfield Beach.

"When it comes to golf courses, they are more focused on the upper echelon," McCabe added. "Without being able to examine the status of their books, you'd have to say on the surface that a $3 million approximate purchase price would be a very, very good buy on the Legacy."

McCabe also said he expects Och-Ziff will work to reposition Legacy and turn a profit on the course in a few years.

Pope agrees that the company's purchase price was well below replacement cost, a standard measure in the real estate industry.

"You couldn't build Legacy for $3 million, no way," said Pope. "It would be more like $6 million."

He also believes Och-Ziff might have big plans for Legacy.

"If things go back to where they were 10 years ago, there will be boutique buyers for golf courses that will pay more, just for the appeal of owning a golf course," he said.

<p><em>LAKEWOOD RANCH</em> - A New York hedge fund that has been acquiring undervalued assets bought one of Southwest Florida's top golf courses for about $3 million.</p><div class="art_item art_item_inset art_item_facts">
<h3>Facts</h3>
<h4>A BARGAIN?</h4>
<p>Lakewood Ranch site fetched $6.7 million in <br>debt in '09</p>
</div>
<p>A subsidiary of Och-Ziff Capital Management financed its Legacy Gulf Club purchase with a $3.6 million loan from Bank of America, records show.</p><p>Seller Textron Financial Corp., of Providence, R.I., has been trying to shed the course and its 5,200- square-foot clubhouse since acquiring it for its $6.7 million debt in 2009, officials connected to the course said.</p><p>Textron's sale also marks the latest in a string of transactions involving local courses that have traded at steep discounts to their values of a decade ago.</p><p>In December, General Electric Credit Equities sold the 233-acre Serenoa Golf Club, in Sarasota, for $2 million to OnCourse Strategies, an Austin, Texas-based company.</p><p>General Electric assumed control of the course in 2010 following a $4.3 million foreclosure judgment.</p><p>Brian Richter, who has managed Legacy for Textron since 2009, said the Legacy sale was part of a portfolio deal Textron orchestrated.</p><p>"I think the reason the seller came to this price level was because this was part of a multiple-course purchase," Richter said. "Textron sold five assets to this group."</p><p>The other assets, he said, are not in this region.</p><p>An Och-Ziff Capital spokesman declined to comment on the transaction or its plans for the property.</p><p>Legacy, which was designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer and premiered in March 1997, was built by Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to attract home buyers to the then-fledgling community. Soon thereafter, the course was acquired by a group headed by Troon Golf.</p><p>Keith Pope, whose Sarasota-based Pope Golf runs 10 golf courses and is building two more at Lakewood Ranch and in Naples for homebuilder Taylor Morrison, said he understood Textron was asking $6.7 million for Legacy.</p><p>He added that the purchase is part of a larger, post-recession trend involving golf courses at a time when the sport is said to be waning in popularity.</p><p>Even so, developers like Taylor Morrison and Neal Communities have shown interest in either building or buying golf courses in Southwest Florida as part of a larger amenity package aimed at retiring, active baby boomers.</p><p>"This is what we see all the time," Pope said. "Golf courses are selling for 25 cents to 50 cents on the dollar from where they were 10 years ago. That is why you're starting to see institutional money come back into the golf industry. They can make money off of it."</p><p>Och-Ziff Capital has a well-earned reputation for buying properties and other alternative assets that have either been neglected or overlooked.</p><p>"They have been a big buyer of distressed real estate over the last five years," said Jack McCabe, chief executive of McCabe Research and Consulting, in Deerfield Beach.</p><p>"When it comes to golf courses, they are more focused on the upper echelon," McCabe added. "Without being able to examine the status of their books, you'd have to say on the surface that a $3 million approximate purchase price would be a very, very good buy on the Legacy."</p><p>McCabe also said he expects Och-Ziff will work to reposition Legacy and turn a profit on the course in a few years.</p><p>Pope agrees that the company's purchase price was well below replacement cost, a standard measure in the real estate industry.</p><p>"You couldn't build Legacy for $3 million, no way," said Pope. "It would be more like $6 million."</p><p>He also believes Och-Ziff might have big plans for Legacy.</p><p>"If things go back to where they were 10 years ago, there will be boutique buyers for golf courses that will pay more, just for the appeal of owning a golf course," he said.</p><p><empty></p>